Multifamily Housing | Press Releases

Revenue Management Solutions

Affinity Property Management Adopts Rainmaker LRO Software

ATLANTA, GA – March 27, 2012 - The Rainmaker Group, the leading provider of revenue management and profit optimization solutions to the multifamily housing and gaming/hospitality industries, announces Affinity Property Management, a boutique property management company serving Oregon and SW Washington, has retained Rainmaker LRO™ software as its revenue management platform. The rollout to roughly half of Affinity’s portfolio is being conducted in two phases and will be fully operational before the end of the month.

Before establishing a partnership, Affinity sought feedback from other property management colleagues who had extensive experience with revenue management, the various systems in the market, and how the pricing model principles were successfully applied in the multifamily industry.

“The feedback we received was simple and clear – if we were adopting a revenue management solution, go with LRO software. Our colleagues reinforced the importance of a revenue vs. occupancy-based model, a mindset we have been driving towards for years,” said Rebecca Sands, director of property management for Affinity.

Strength of Implementation

As a growing organization, Affinity has adopted multiple new initiatives and systems over the last few years to better its business practices. So it was imperative the LRO software implementation be as streamlined and efficient as possible while offering individual attention to Affinity team members as needed. “Any time you bring on a new program or system, there is always a little hesitation on what the work load will be for your organization,” said Sands. “Rainmaker’s implementation has been the most professional, efficient and just the most amazing rollout experience.”

Rich Miller, managing director for Affinity, echoed Sands’ sentiments, “It has been as close to what is advertised as I think we ever experienced. Often times the sales person sits in front of you and says ‘no problem’ but problems arise once you start to implement. This is not the case with our LRO software implementation, it has been so amazing.”

The Rainmaker implementation team encourages open dialogue to ensure Affinity on-site managers are part of the pricing decisions. Managers are engaged in discussions about market, competitors, and changes at the property level and asked to provide insights if something didn’t seem or feel right. “The LRO revenue management process reminds people about so many of the things we should be doing every day, like entering our traffic,” Sands said. “In doing so, our on-site teams are looking into things deeper and asking more questions. I believe it has helped to build greater confidence not just about the software but from operating their sites.”

Stellar Analytics

The LRO system’s flexibility and comprehensive analysis of historical data also generated interest and excitement regarding the platform’s performance across various communities within the Affinity portfolio, particularly at those communities with less than 100 units. “The business model makes sense. One of the most exciting things about LRO revenue management is how it considers all facets of the marketplace. It’s pulling historical data and looking at additional analytics and algorithms I would never have time to do across our entire portfolio,” Sands said.

Affinity understood there could be immediate results at the larger product types in its portfolio but was more interested in the how the pricing would perform on its smaller properties. “We were interested to see how LRO would operate on a 200-unit, A-class property, but what was really exciting was the difference it could make on our smaller B and C products,” continued Miller. The system takes some of the pricing responsibility from the site manager allowing them to build a sales pitch around a price they don’t have to set, they don’t have to feel guilty about and as a result our leasing professional are gaining the confidence to rent at the recommended price, he continued.

“Affinity is a prime example of how the principles of revenue management can work for any multifamily property or portfolio, regardless of size,” said Andrew Rains, executive vice president for The Rainmaker Group. “Their willingness to approach revenue management holistically and not limit the deployment to only larger properties will prove successful for the company and its entire portfolio. We look forward to helping them further achieve their pricing and optimization goals.”

Rainmaker LRO™ revenue management is the leading multifamily lease rate optimization solution used to maximize revenue from apartment leases. The system calculates optimized pricing based on multiple factors that influence rate setting, including traffic and lease duration, move-in dates, competitive affects and other metrics. The system also produces enterprise-wide demand forecasts by measuring and analyzing historical and current market metrics and performing calculations necessary for occupancy predictions that are dynamically updated as market conditions change.

About Affinity Property Management

Affinity Property Management was created to make a difference in residential living and has a wide array of conventional and affordable apartments for rent in major metropolitan areas in Oregon and SW Washington. As a leader in the residential property management field, Affinity Property Management headquartered in Portland, OR, has more than 9 years experience in cultivating your investment and managing every aspect of your asset so you have the confidence that all areas of the business are being addresses. For more information, please visit www.affinityproperty.com.